* Most Asian currencies edge up as dollar near 3-yr low
* Taiwan dollar biggest boost in region
* Philippine peso hits 2-mth low on weak GDP data
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Christina Martin
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies rose on
Tuesday as the dollar remained near a three-year low, after
trimming some of its losses on a deal that was struck by the
U.S. senators to end the government shutdown.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a short-term
measure to fund the federal government through Feb. 8, but the
boost from the deal did not last long amid concerns about
persistent points of difference between Republicans and
Democrats.
The dollar index against a basket of major currencies
stood at 90.36, not far from its three-year low touched on Jan.
17.
Against the yen, the dollar dipped slightly after the
Bank of Japan maintained its policy and its economic and price
projections.
"The positive risk sentiment that is carrying over from the
U.S. session to the local Asian equity sentiment is benefitting
the majority of Asia emerging market currencies," said Stephen
Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at OANDA.
The Taiwan dollar rose as much as 1.1 percent to
its highest since Jan. 25, 2013, posting its biggest intraday
percentage gain in 11 months.
The Indonesian rupiah jumped as much as 0.3 percent,
while Malaysia's ringgit climbed 0.2 percent, on track to
gain for three straight sessions.
The Indian rupee and the Chinese yuan
both rose as much as 0.2 percent, with the yuan rising for a
seventh straight session.
The Thai baht edged up as much as 0.1 percent, on
track to gain for a fifth straight session, to its highest since
Aug. 28, 2014.
The Philippine peso, on the other hand, dropped
as much as 0.5 percent to its lowest in two months.
The Philippine economy grew 6.6 percent in October-December,
slightly below market expectations, while full-year gross
domestic product growth came in at 6.7 percent, within the
government's target.
The Korean won also slipped on Tuesday, down as much as 0.2
percent to over a one-week low.
"The Trump administration slapped a tariff on cheap solar
panels, which has driven the rapid expansion of solar energy.
Since a lot of EM Asia economies are predominantly
export-driven, this escalation could dampen sentiment," said
Innes.
"We saw the immediate markets reactions when both China and
(South) Korea took to the airwaves to respond to the unwelcome
tariffs."
President Donald Trump has approved recommendations to
impose safeguard tariffs on imported large residential washing
machines and imported solar cells and modules.
China is the world's biggest builder of solar photo-voltaic
cells and the tariffs will damage Asian companies the most. The
country's commerce ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction
regarding the tariffs.
South Korea, on the other hand, said the government will
complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO) about the U.S.
decision on tariffs.
SOUTH KOREA'S WON
The South Korean won slid as much as 0.2 percent
on Tuesday to its lowest level since Jan. 11 after the U.S.
government approved its tariffs.
Trump's tariffs have dealt a heavy blow to shares of South
Korea's Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics
, who together sell between 2.5 million to 3 million
washing machines annually to the United States, making around $1
billion in export earnings.
The won has slipped 0.1 percent so far this year.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0550 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 110.790 110.91 +0.11
Sing dlr 1.318 1.3187 +0.03
Taiwan dlr 29.259 29.432 +0.59
Korean won 1071.300 1070.1 -0.11
Baht 31.810 31.84 +0.09
Peso 51.090 50.835 -0.50
Rupiah 13318.000 13347 +0.22
Rupee 63.785 63.87 +0.13
Ringgit 3.926 3.933 +0.18
Yuan 6.399 6.4050 +0.10
Change in 2018
Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move
Japan yen 110.790 112.67 +1.70
Sing dlr 1.318 1.3373 +1.44
Taiwan dlr 29.259 29.848 +2.01
Korean won 1071.300 1070.50 -0.07
Baht 31.810 32.58 +2.42
Peso 51.090 49.93 -2.27
Rupiah 13318.000 13565 +1.85
Rupee 63.785 63.87 +0.13
Ringgit 3.926 4.0440 +3.01
Yuan 6.399 6.5069 +1.69
(Reporting By Christina Martin in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam
Holmes)